Deerbie®
About the artist

Comik

Christian Matriche (Liège, 1971), aka Comik, is a Belgian graphic designer, painter, and illustrator—or is he more of a painter, illustrator, and graphic designer? After graduating in 1994, the Liege native was only 16 when he joined the Institut Saint-Luc in Liege, where he spent all his free time drawing and painting between art history classes. At school, he met future artists such as François Coorens, with whom he held his very first exhibition. During his studies, he was closely involved with the underground culture of graffiti and hip hop, which had a major influence on him. He spent time with graffiti artists and taggers from the JNC CREW: “I hung out with these guys who spray-painted trains and walls, but I was more of an observer; I didn't have the guts to do it myself (laughs). But it was a very inspiring time, the graffiti movement was exploding, and at Saint Luc we were at the heart of it. That part of my life has stayed with me, even though my tastes have become very eclectic, and it's influenced my own work.” But even back then, Comik wasn't just an observer... He created a zine called ENA (for Enf**rés Non Admis, or “Unadmitted Assholes”) about this emerging subculture, then stickers, lots of drawings… In truth, he was perhaps simply in a different dynamic, between meditative art and solitary pleasure: “I have no constraints when I paint. I feel good. I love this freedom. When subjects strike me or catch my attention, whether from current events or pop culture, I sketch them in my corner and if I feel good about it, I paint it in a larger format. Sometimes it stays as a sketch.” Inspired by free figuration and pioneering artists of the movement such as Robert Combas and Hervé Di Rosa, and also an admirer of Jean-Michel Basquiat, he shares with us: "What I like about free figuration is the positive aspect of ‘anyone can do it’. I've always worked that way. I create, I paint, I draw for myself, and if others like it, so much the better, but the notion of ‘beautiful’ or ‘not beautiful’ is relative and not what drives me." Now, at over 50 years old, he looks back from his New York-style loft nestled in the heart of Liege, which serves as a home and studio for him and his wife (a ceramist and graphic designer): "Some friends chose to live the life of an artist, which hasn't always been easy. For my part, I had children quite early on, I worked as a freelance graphic designer, and my freedom allowed me to continue painting as a passion. Today, I feel a new energy, I want to share my work, not to seek glory but to live a little of the life that has always attracted me too." It is with his characteristic humility that Christian Matriche shares this new turning point with us. Amidst all this, the collaboration with Deerbie comes at an ideal stage in his career: his children are now young adults, a girl and a boy, both artists (video, photography, music...) and he is determined to continue this life of freedom and creativity. In the morning, he gets up, religiously makes his coffee, walks his two dogs, and then gets to work. And when we ask him about his collaboration with Deerbie, he spontaneously replies: "I quickly got hooked on the idea of this collaboration. I think this deer is cool; it's actually quite close to my visual universe, to my characters. Painting on something other than canvas is a challenge, but knowing that part of the proceeds will go to nature conservation motivates me enough."
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